ROCKFORD - Playing more shows with the band name Empty Pockets could have silenced musicians Dan MaGuire, Josh Johnson and Paul Washa.

The three men, all in their 40s, have played their eclectic blend of original rock and acoustic songs as part of the Rockford music scene for nearly five years.

Then came the cease-and-desist-letter last year from a Chicago band called The Empty Pockets, with a link to their trademarked name.

"They've been very nice about it," MaGuire said. "We kind of anticipated this because Empty Pockets is a fairly common name. These people are in Chicago, so it's like we're in their backyard. They're a legit act with a cool sound."

"We'd never worked with a band that has been this serious about their brand, which is a great thing to see," Nadi President Aaron Hotlen said. "These guys are a really professional group, and we wanted to portray them that way."

Hotlen said his team members had seen the guys perform as Empty Pockets, so they were familiar with the band's style. MaGuire and Washa started playing music together about five years ago, and Johnson joined about three years ago.

Nadi came up with the name Sonicbloom and the logo, which features a speaker and a flower.

The speaker represents more of the plugged-in electric rock sound, while the flower represents the band's acoustic, jazz and classical sounds.

MaGuire said he likes the new name because it captures the band's two identities. He said he also was fascinated by the non-text symbols that communicate the meaning of the name, similar to icons on a smartphone.

"You can look at it and know exactly what it is," MaGuire said.

Nadi is also helping the band through the trademark and copyright process for the Sonicbloom name and logo so they won't need to play the name game again.

"I've been in bands that had bad names," MaGuire said. "It's a daunting process (because) you want to have a name that's cool."

The Chicago version of Empty Pockets has been good-natured about the situation. MaGuire said the band offered to host the newly named group in Chicago.